Chapter 5: Are You Two Dating?

After returning to the capital, with Cheng Si’s repeated urging, Lin Xi hurriedly started her job at Feiyun Technologies. Her main responsibility was participating in chip research and design.

On her very first day, she gloriously arrived late. Perhaps due to jet lag, she hadn’t adjusted yet, so she couldn’t fall asleep until the early hours, and the alarm was too quiet for her to hear in the morning.

Stepping out of the elevator at the R&D center, she suddenly heard her name. Looking up, a few people were gathered around a workstation not far ahead, including her own assistant.

“Late on her first day—no wonder she’s a returning PhD from overseas, she certainly has confidence.”

“PhD? These days, anyone with a bit of money can go abroad, muddle through, and get a degree. It’s all paid for, nothing special—I could do it too.”

“What do you think her relationship with President Cheng is? I heard from the receptionist that yesterday she got out of President Cheng’s car, and he brought her up himself. The receptionist said he was especially considerate toward her—it seemed like something was going on.”

“Really? That explains why HR was silent and she just parachuted in. So there’s a hidden story.”

“I snuck a look at her yesterday. She’s really pretty—so sweet and innocent. No wonder President Cheng could be moved.”

“No wonder she could take over from Engineer Chen right away. Engineer Chen graduated from a domestic university—he’s not worse than she is, is he? I heard he was so furious yesterday he went pale and couldn’t eat.”

“And I heard a big company’s considering working with us. With her skills, what big deal could she possibly land?”

Lin Xi walked forward unhurriedly. “Is the big company you’re talking about Huasheng?”

Her assistant replied, “Yeah, it’s—” but before she could finish, a colleague beside her suddenly stood up.

Puzzled, she turned and met Lin Xi’s smiling eyes.

The assistant froze, then quickly rose to her feet. “Lin—Lin, Engineer Lin, good mor—”

“It’s not early. Good morning. Sorry, I’m still adjusting to the time difference and was late today. Did I delay your work?”

The assistant snapped back to attention. “N-no, not at all! Do you need coffee to wake up? I’ll get it for you!”

“Thank you.” Lin Xi’s cool features always looked serious when she wasn’t smiling.

The others, hearing her even tone, couldn’t quite read her intentions. Clinging to hope, they assumed she hadn’t heard their earlier remarks.

Unfortunately, they were mistaken.

Lin Xi’s gaze swept over them, calm and unhurried. “Yesterday was a bit rushed, so I didn’t get to introduce myself properly.”

“My name is Lin Xi, I’m twenty-four years old, and I graduated from MIT with a degree in Electrical Engineering. I was on a full scholarship the entire time, led teams in various competitions, and have some awards I can show. If you’re interested, feel free to look them up online.”

“As for Cheng Si, I do know him privately. But in this company, I don’t discuss personal matters. If you’re curious, just ask him directly—it’ll save you more time than making up stories here.”

The group fell silent.

“And about Engineer Chen—he and I are colleagues, working as equals. There’s no talk of replacing anyone. I’m unaware of the rumor about him being angry, but—”

With that, she pulled out her phone in front of them, found Engineer Chen in the group chat, and sent a message. Before long, he stepped out of the office, smiling. “Engineer Lin, you were looking for me?”

Engineer Chen was in his thirties and had been at Feiyun for years. His constant smile made him well-liked.

Lin Xi nodded to him. “I heard you didn’t eat all day yesterday? May I ask why?”

She never beat around the bush; she always got straight to the point.

“Oh,” Engineer Chen waved a hand, pulling a blister pack of medicine and a receipt from his pocket. “My stomach was upset yesterday, so I didn’t dare eat. Went to the hospital after work, got some meds. The price of medicine these days is outrageous.”

“Would you like to take another day off? I can cover here.”

“No, no, I’m much better after taking the meds.”

“Good.” She glanced at the group, who were all holding their breath, bracing themselves for public embarrassment.

Instead, Lin Xi joked with Engineer Chen, “I thought you were upset because I didn’t invite everyone for a meal on my first day.”

“Of course not! I’m not that kind of person, hahaha. But if Engineer Lin wants to treat us, I wouldn’t say no. Could you request for my stomach to have a couple days’ grace?”

“Then let’s wait until you feel better.”

“Deal! All right, let’s go, I’ll show you the Huasheng project.”

Lin Xi agreed, and before leaving, she gave her assistant a lingering glance. Under everyone’s anxious gazes, she parted her lips slightly, “Please send the coffee to my office later. Thank you.”

“Of course, Engineer Lin!”

After she left, the group finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“She heard everything…”

“Is she angry or not?”

“She won’t tell President Cheng about this, will she?”

“Xiao Liu, maybe you should try to sound her out when you bring the coffee…”

—

Because she was late in the morning, Lin Xi stayed late to make up for it. By the time she left the office, it was after nine.

She’d eaten dinner early, so by now she was hungry again. Having been away from the capital for so long, she had no idea what restaurants were nearby.

She hesitated between hot pot and barbecue, but realized she couldn’t finish either on her own. She desperately needed a dinner companion.

But who could she ask at this hour?

Cheng Si had left on a business trip after dropping her off yesterday. The friends she knew in the city she hadn’t contacted in years. She wasn’t close to any colleagues.

She strolled slowly from the building to the street, covering three hundred meters in seven or eight minutes.

Standing at the roadside, she sighed, “Forget it, I’ll just skip dinner. Good chance to lose weight.”

“Skip what?”

Startled, Lin Xi turned in disbelief.

Before her, that familiar Ferrari Purosangue had been following her for who knows how long. Peering in through the lowered passenger window, sure enough, at the wheel sat Qin Yu, whom she hadn’t seen in nearly a week.

“What are you doing here?”

Compared to how awkward she’d been upon first returning home days ago, now Lin Xi seemed unfazed. She even forgot to call him “Third Brother.”

“Just passing by.”

“?”

Qin Yu tapped his long fingers on the steering wheel. “Get in. You can’t stop here for long.”

Lin Xi thought, If you can’t stop here, then drive away—why are you calling me?

“Hurry up, I have something to discuss with you.” At his urging, Lin Xi once again climbed aboard the pirate ship.

“Why are you still in contact with that Lu fellow?”

“Huh?” Lin Xi was taken aback. She hadn’t chatted much with Lu Bei lately. But then, how did Qin Yu know?

The man turned his head, his expression unreadable. “That Lu told the family he’s very satisfied with you. Are you two seeing each other?”